In the spring of 1879, a group of pioneers from Bear Lake settled here. Moses Thatcher explored the area, dedicated it as a home for the Latter Day Saints, and called it Star Valley. Freedom and Auburn were settled in 1879, and Afton in 1885. The first public building stood on this square. A log house with a dirt roof served the settlers as a church, school, and public meeting place from 1886 to 1892, when it was replaced by a large frame building. The bell that called the people together could be heard throughout the valley.